On July 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that Donald Trump's $10 Billion lawsuit against the IRS was "brought for an improper purpose—to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a 'settlement' that had no viable basis in law or fact."
In her conclusion Judge Williams wrote:
This action was never about a party seeking judicial resolution of a legal issue or a factual dispute. The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law.
Read the 56-page ruling here.
Source:
Beitsch, Rebecca; Shapero, Julia. (July 13, 2026) "Judge finds Trump, DOJ colluded with settlement behind 'anti-weaponization' fund". The Hill. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
Listen to Brian Tyler Cohen and Glenn Kirschner discuss the ruling here.
Read a press release from Democracy Forward entitled "Federal Court Finds Trump v IRS Lawsuit Plaintiffs 'Acted In Bad Faith'" here.
On Jan 29, 2026 Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and The Trump Organization, LLC filed a lawsuit alleging that the U.S. government failed to safeguard the confidential tax returns of Donald Trump, his family, and their businesses. The lawsuit asked for at least $10 billion in compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs, and demanded a jury trial.
On May 18, 2026 Donald Trump agreed to settle the lawsuit.
Because Trump was president when he agreed to the settlement, and because the president has ultimate control of the IRS, the settlement was widely viewed as Trump settling a lawsuit against himself.
On May 18, 2026 (the same day), the U.S. DOJ announced an 'anti-weaponization' fund, which was an integral part of the settlement agreement.
In the announcement press release, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said:
The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department's intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again. As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.
The press release states:
The Fund will receive $1.776 billion and will come from the judgment fund, which is a perpetual appropriation allowing DOJ to settle and pay cases.
The 'anti-weaponization' fund was criticized because it would allow, for example, those who committed crimes during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol to receive financial compensation.
On May 27, 2026 35 former federal judges filed a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(d)(3), arguing the settlement was a product of collusion and a fraud on the court.
On May 29, 2026 U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema issued an order blocking the Trump administration from transferring money to the fund, considering any claims submitted to the fund, and disbursing any money from the fund while legal motions are pending,
Commentary:
This is nothing short of corruption on the part of Donald Trump and the DOJ.
The implementation of the "anti-weaponization fund" would have allowed nearly $1.8 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars to be distributed to anyone the Trump administration feels has been "wronged" by the actions of the Biden administration.
For Trump or anyone in his administration to rail about the "weaponization" of government is an absolute joke. Trump and his sycophants have been "rewriting the book" on "weaponization" and they continue to do so on a daily basis.
This is just another pathetic attempt by Trump to rewrite the history of what actually happened on January 6, 2021.
Thank God that federal judges with clear, reasonable, and rational minds have been able to thwart many of Trump's attempts to circumvent the rule of law.